The National Defense Forces were advancing by leaps and bounds on the battlefield, and the emperor Zuo Menggeng was not idle either.
His presence has a huge effect in soothing people's hearts.
Nagasaki stabilized rapidly because of his arrival. Likewise, Shimabara people were also looking forward to him.
"His Majesty……"
We haven’t seen him for a long time. Amakusa Tokisada’s stature has grown a lot and she is becoming more handsome.
Zuo Mengeng looked at him and said with a smile: "It's okay for others to call you Your Majesty. You... are not allowed to call him that."
Amakusa Tokisada was stunned for a moment, then tears filled her eyes.
"uncle!"
Zuo Mengeng smiled, nodded, and touched his head.
Even though the young man in front of him is the leader of Shimabara, in his eyes, he is always his own child.
When the people around saw this scene, they were all envious.
What an honor it is to be treated as a relative by His Majesty!
Shimabara's civil and military officials were even more excited.
They had only heard bits and pieces about the relationship between Amakusa Tokisada and Zuo Menggeng, so they were skeptical.
Now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I understand that my leader is even more amazing.
"Are you Seijiro Saji? I heard that you had outstanding achievements in the government school and were the first in the class."
Another young man was very excited.
Being remembered by His Majesty makes this life worthwhile.
"I have always kept His Majesty's teachings in mind and never dared to slack off. Finally, I have lived up to the expectations of the people."
"Don't be modest. Even in Xanadu, I've heard about your abilities. How about it? Do you have the confidence to play a role on a bigger stage?"
Although Shimabara is an independent force in Japan, it is actually the training base for imperial officials in Japan.
The officials here all graduated from the imperial government school, and have also interned and worked in various places, and have very rich experience.
After they returned to Shimabara, they also worked diligently under the leadership of Tokisada Amakusa to ensure the stability and prosperity of Shimabara.
Today, Shimabara has become a paradise in the eyes of Japanese people.
Since you have political achievements, you should be promoted.
After the empire annexed Japan, there were too many positions that needed talents. Because these Shimabara officials were Japanese and familiar with their hometown, they were the most suitable.
A large number of local officials, supplemented by those sent from the central government, can ensure that Dongyang Province is foolproof.
Saji Seijiro has entered the center's field of vision and was appointed as the Deputy Provincial Government and Director of the Civil Affairs Department of Dongyang Province to assist Shen Tingyang.
As for Amakusa Tokisada...
"According to the order of the headquarters, the designation of the Shimabara Rebel Army has been officially revoked and merged into the National Defense Forces system. You will serve as my deputy, and you will command the rest of the battle."
Amakusa Tokisada's great achievements were naturally promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of the Eastern Strategic Cluster, and he actually commanded all battles.
This appointment scared him a little.
"Uncle, there are so many seniors with outstanding military exploits and extraordinary abilities. How can I dare to be superior to them?"
The Eastern Strategic Cluster is also filled with proud soldiers, many of whom are seniors of Amakusa Tokisada in the military. It is really a bit awkward to let a young man take command.
"If a man wants to make contributions, he must do his part. Since I have appointed you as the deputy commander, I have taken a fancy to your ability. Fear should not appear in a man!"
Zuo Menggeng's scolding shocked Amakusa Tokisada into a cold sweat, and he no longer dared to be modest.
Amakusa Tokisada quickly took office and began to issue orders one after another.
Since the Satsuma Domain was quickly occupied by the National Defense Forces due to civil strife, and there was no strong resistance on the entire Kyushu Island, Amakusa Tokisada decided to take action against the Choshu Domain immediately.
Maori Guangda was defeated and the remaining daimyo had very little effective strength. This was a good opportunity to seize the western region.
Moreover, Mitsuhiro Mouri is still on his way back, and has been harassed along the way, making his steps difficult. It is not yet known when he will be able to return to his territory.
In this case, there is no need to come back.
Currently, the person in charge of affairs in the Choshu Domain is Mouri Tsunamoto, Mouri Mitsuhiro's son, and Mouri Motochi, Mouri Mitsuhiro's younger brother, assists.
These two people are considered to have extraordinary talents, but it's a pity that a clever woman can't make a meal without straw.
During the long war, the Choshu clan was also beaten to pieces, forcing them to carry out extreme exploitation of the people.
Not long ago, farmers near Nagato launched a riot and occupied several islands along the coast.
The Choshu clan's army was outside, and there was nothing they could do to deal with the rebellious people entrenched on the island.
These rebels have received funding from the empire, and now they have returned to the land, defeating the Choshu feudal clan.
If the Choshu clan is not eliminated at this time, how long will it take?
Following the order from Tokisada Amakusa, the 41st Regiment of the 11th Division quickly broke through the Kanmon Strait and captured Shimonoseki with lightning speed.
This time, the Choshu clan was completely panicked and could no longer care about the chaos in the north.
Mouri Tsunamoto raised troops from all over the place and deployed a defense line at Togōan, intending to block the attack of the National Defense Forces. At the same time, he sent people to quickly send a message to Mouri Mitsuhiro, hoping that the feudal lord would return quickly.
He had no idea that internal strife broke out among the Daimyo army that had just arrived at Fukuyama.
With the defeat, Mitsuhiro Mouri's ability was greatly questioned, and other daimyo blamed him for the defeat.
In addition, they fled all the way without any supplies. Not only were many wounded people left to fend for themselves, many others starved to death on the road.
Everyone was hungry, and even if they tried their best to loot, the things they grabbed were not enough for everyone. So conflicts naturally broke out because of distribution issues.
The regional dispute in Japan was also fierce, and under the shadow of failure, the situation eventually got out of hand.
To be honest, Mitsuhiro Mouri was actually very fair in the battle, and did not deliberately let other daimyo be cannon fodder to preserve his own strength.
As a result, his Choshu domain army suffered the most serious damage and did not have an advantage even among the defeated troops.
Facing attacks from several other daimyo, Mitsuhiro Mori narrowly escaped, but lost more than half of his troops.
He himself was injured, had a high fever, and was groggy. He just wanted to rush back to the Choshu Domain.
The subordinates also lost their backbone and were extremely frightened, so they had no choice but to rush on their way.
But unfortunately, they went too far. When they wanted to come back, they found that their hometown was out of reach.
After the 41st Regiment landed on Honshu Island, they started attacking without stopping.
In the Battle of Toho-an, although the Choshu clan's army occupied the commanding heights and Motomo Mouri was very brave, the quality of the troops was very different, and the generation difference in weapons could not make up for it.
The most helpless thing for the Choshu Domain was that there was no logistical supply at all.
In just one day, the 41st Regiment cleared all the positions outside Dongxing An and aimed its artillery directly at the high ground.
In the next three days, the Choshu feudal army encountered merciless artillery fire, and even the entire mountain was leveled.
Just when Motomomo Mouri felt that the time had come for a decisive battle, bad news came from the rear.
The East China Sea Fleet carried the 42nd Regiment and completed the landing at Onoda. Not only that their retreat was cut off, but the mountain pass where the lord of the Choshu Domain was located was also clear.